FENCING HIGHLIGHTS: RATINGS, RIGA, WELSH OPEN, VET WORLDS

Fencing Highlights is a regular round-up of the latest stories and events from our community. In this snapshot, we take a look at the events that have recently happened or are taking place, including a ratings update, Riga U14, the Welsh Open and the start of the Veteran World Championships.

Ratings

Well done to the fencers who achieved new ratings from competitions over the past week! You can see your rating via the UK Ratings website here.

The BF Ratings Scheme is a great way to get a clear progression path to improve your fencing, and easily enter events that are suitable for your experience level.

Did you know that you can also do a head to head analysis of two fencers on the UK Ratings website? Check it out here.

Riga Round-up

Well done to our U14 fencers who took part in the EFC Foil & Epee competition in Riga, Latvia!

Sissi Li won a silver medal in the foil event, and Olivia Johnson and Aleksandra Pensa won bronze.

A young fencer holding a certificate and wearing a medal. They are next to another fencer on a podium. — *Sissi Li won silver in Riga (Image: Li Chen).*

On Sunday, Benjamin McConnell-Niño won a silver medal in Riga at the U14 Men’s Epee event. Afterwards, he said he’d like to thank his mother for her support. He gave us this motivating quote:

“The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago. The second best time is now.”

A young fencer in a hoodie holds a medal and certificate, smiling to the camera. — *Benjamin won silver over the weekend (Image: Benjamin McConnell-Niño).*

Well done also to Damian Czerwinski on winning silver in the U14 Men’s Foil event, as well as Jinmi Adesanya and Frederick Mirsky who won bronze.

Four young people, three in fencing kit, smile to the camera. — *U14 fencers at the Men’s Epee event in Riga (Image: Benjamin McConnell-Niño).*

Welsh Open

At home, the Welsh Open took place at the Sports Wales National Centre in Cardiff. Abigail Dicks (BF Events & Membership Manager) and Rick Rodgers (BF Inclusion Manager (Disability)) both attended to support the set-up and connect with the wheelchair fencing community, as part of planning for the Para Fencing European Championships in 2026.

Rick commented:

“The Welsh fencing community is a vibrant and welcoming crowd and the wheelchair fencing activities were integrated into the event as much as everything else, which is a pleasure to see.”

Well done to the medallists at the Welsh Open. The full results can be found here.

Veteran World Fencing Championships begin

Keep an eye on the Veteran Fencing World Championships, taking place this week between the 12th and 20th November. On the first day of the event, Michele Narey and Anton Pollard both won bronze in the Women’s Sabre 60+ and Men’s Epee 70+, respectively.

The full line-up, results and livestream links can be found here.

We’ll be sharing the British Veterans Fencing full round-up report after the competition, and you can follow along on socials for daily updates via their Facebook page here.

Fencing Highlights: share your stories!

If you’ve got a story to share from a recent event, get in touch! Whether you’ve attended your first competition, won a medal, made a personal achievement, or just had a great experience at an event, we want to hear from you.

Tell us by emailing media@britishfencing.com, along with a photo if you like!